Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) operates the Greenland Inland Traverse (GrIT) on an as-needed basis from Thule Air Base in northwest Greenland to Summit Station and back. The 1,400-mile (2,300-kilometer) round-trip traverse is a nearly two-month-long operation to transport thousands of pounds of equipment, fuel and supplies to resupply science stations on the Greenland Ice Sheet as an alternative to the traditional LC-130 airlift resupply from Kangerlussuag, Greenland. GrIT typically departs Thule in early April, arrives to Summit in early May, and returns to Thule in the second-half of May.

GrIT can be utilized to assist science projects operating between Thule and Summit Station. Past projects have benefited from fuel and equipment caches left by GrIT, received assistance navigating the crevassed portion of the ice sheet outside of Thule, and conducted research integrated into the traverse itself (i.e. shallow snow pits, shallow cores, radiation measurements, ground penetrating radar). Researchers interested in conducting science along the GrIT route should contact both the Summit SCO and the CPS Science Planning Manager to discuss options.

This site is administered by the Science Coordination Office for Summit Station and the Greenland Traverse (University of New Hampshire, University of California - Merced, and Dartmouth). This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under awards OPP-1637006 to the University of New Hampshire, OPP-1637209 to the University of California - Merced, and OPP-1637003 to Dartmouth College. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.